In the
New Testament, there are both realms of faith and realms
of judgment. Realms of faith has reference to matters
of a thus saith the Lord. The Apostle Paul informs us
that:  faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of
God (Rom. 10:17). When the Lord gives a specific
commandment and then spells out precisely in detail how that
commandment is to be carried out, then we are not at liberty to
alter that command or the way in which it is to be carried out.
Whereas matters of judgment provides us a certain amount of
freedom to make decisions that are in harmony with the general
principles of the new covenant in obeying a specific command of
the Lord in which a particular method of doing so is not stated.
Let me further clarify that even in matters of judgment we
are not authorized to alter or change a command. But in those
areas of judgment, as long as we abide by the general principles
of the new covenant, we can determine how best to carry out those
commands in which a specific pattern of carrying it out was not
designated in the New Testament.

Discussion:

I.THE FIRST PRINCIPLE IN RESTORING NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIANITY
IS THAT THERE IS A REALM OF FAITH, IN WHICH A SPECIFIC
PATTERN FOR CARRYING OUT A PARTICULAR COMMAND HAS BEEN GIVEN.

A.Gods commanding Noah to build an ark includes not
only the command to build the ark, but also specific instructions
such as the material in which it is to be made of, its dimensions,
and other specifics in its construction (Gen. 6:14-21).

1.God commanded Noah to build the ark of gopher wood. This
automatically eliminated any other type of material, including all
other kinds of wood. This is true though no other kind of
material was mentioned.

2.God gave the exact dimensions of the ark. Therefore, all
other possible dimensions were eliminated, though no other
dimensions were mentioned.

3.The principle here is fundamental to the restoration of New
Testament Christianity. God gave a command. He gave detailed
plans as to how this command was to be executed. Each of these
points on which God gave specific instructions became matters of
faith.

4.On the other hand, if God had merely said, Make thee an
ark, Noah would have then been permitted to use his judgment
on these areas where God gave no specific instructions.

5.When God has given a commandment and a plan or method
for the execution of that commandment, then both the commandment
and His instructions of its execution are matters of faith.

B.The type of music authorized in the New Testament is
singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.

Eph. 5:19,
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

Col. 3:16,
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom;
teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

1.Therefore, those seeking to restore New Testament teaching
and practice pertaining to music have opposed adding instruments
of music to the worship on the solid ground that God, in
commanding singing, has excluded mechanical instruments of
music.

C.God has commanded that the alien sinner be baptized as
an obedient believer. Not only has the Lord demanded baptism,
but He has also taught the how of baptism (its mode), and for what
purpose one should be baptized.

1.Baptism is a burial in water for the remission of sins.

Rom. 6:3-4,
Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus
Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with
him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from
the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk
in newness of life.

Col. 2:12,
Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him
through the faith of the operation of God, who has raised him from
the dead.

Acts
8:35-39, (Philip, the gospel preacher, taught the Ethiopian
eunuch the gospel and baptized him in water.)

2.The one being baptized is to be baptized into the name of
the Heavenly Father, the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit.

Matt. 28:19,
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

3.And the purpose of scriptural baptism is for the remission
of sins.

Acts 2:38,
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one
of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and
ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 22:16,
And now why tarriest thou? Arise and be baptized, and wash
away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

D.Another example of a specific command to be obeyed, the
how of partaking and the purpose of doing so is the Lords Supper.

1.Observance of the Lords Supper is a matter of faith, and
failure to do so is to sin.

Luke 22:19,
(In reference to His Supper, Jesus said,  this do in
remembrance of me.

2.In reference to the Lords Supper, Jesus went beyond the
commandment and spelled out in clear detail exactly how to
observe this memorial service, which included the elements to be
used.

Mark
14:22-24, And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and
blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take eat: this
is my body. And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he
gave it to them: and they all drank of it. And he said unto
them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for
many.

3.Even the day of its observance is firmly established by
apostolic example.

Acts 20:7,
And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came
together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart
on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.

E. The total effort to restore New Testament Christianity
depends upon recognition of the realm of faith as including all
that God commands, requires, and forbids.

II.THE SECOND BASIC PRINCIPLE TO BE REMEMBERED IN THE
RESTORATION OF NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIANITY IS THAT THERE IS A
REALM OF HUMAN JUDGMENT. (There are many things connected
with the work, worship, and lives of Gods people which are,
beyond question, matters of judgment. The tendency is strong to
make everything a matter of faith. Apparently, there is some who
would rewrite the old statement: We speak where the Bible
speaks, and we are silent where the Bible is silent. They
would change those words to say: We speak where the Bible
speaks; and where God has given no pattern, well make one for
you. They would make matters of opinion matters of faith and
bind their judgments and preferences on the brethren. When God
has given a command, but has not given a plan or method of
carrying it out then the general principles of the New Testament
applies. Such passages as First Corinthians 14:40, that
emphasizes: Let all things be done decently and in order.)

A.There is the command for those of a local congregation
to assemble together.

1.To assemble together as a congregation is a matter of
faith.

Heb.
10:24-25, And let us consider one another to provoke unto
love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves
together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another:
and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

2.However, the New Testament is silent as to where a
particular congregation is to meet. Therefore, the designated
place to meet is a matter of judgment. Brethren have met together
for worship under a brush arbor, in rented facilities, in private
homes, as well as meeting houses obtained by the local church for
the purpose of assembling together.

3.We are to meet on the first day of the week to partake of
the Lords Supper and to give of our means for the work of the
church (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2). But the
time when we meet and for how long is in the realm of judgment.

B.Specific instructions are not given as to how to carry out
the Great Commission.

Matt.
28:18-20, And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All
power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore,
and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe
all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with
you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Mark
16:15-16, And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world,
and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be
damned.

1.The mode of going and transportation is not specified in
the Great Commission. We might walk across the street to study
Gods Word with a neighbor, drive our car across town to study
with someone, and fly by airplane or sail by ship across the sea
to do mission work.

2.The manner of teaching and preaching the gospel of Christ
is not spelled out in the Great Commission. Various methods of
doing so such as the printed page, radio, television, and the
internet, as well as doing so both privately and publicly.

C.The local church is not limited to one method of
teaching the brethren in building them up in the faith.

IN THE HOME:

Eph. 6:4,
And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but
bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

2 Tim. 1:5,
When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in
thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother
Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.

IN BIBLE
CLASSES:

Titus 2:1-6,
But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine: That
the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in
charity, in patience. The aged women likewise, that they be in
behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to
much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young
women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their
own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. Young men
likewise exhort to be sober minded.

IN THE
ASSEMBLY OF THE SAINTS:

(The elders
[bishops])

Acts 20:28,
Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock,
over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the
church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

(The
evangelist [preacher, minister of the gospel])

2 Tim.
4:2-5, Preach the word; be instant in season, out of
season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and
doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound
doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves
teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears
from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou
in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist,
make full proof of thy ministry.

(Faithful
brethren)

2 Tim. 2:2,
And the things that thou hast heard of me among many
witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able
to teach others also.

1.Such teaching can include: the home, in Bible classes,
printed literature, and from the pulpit.

D.Parents are exhorted to bring their children up in the
nurture and admonition of the Lord. But what all may be
incorporated in doing this is not spelled out.

Eph. 6:4,
And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but
bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

2 Tim. 1:5,
When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in
thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother
Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.

E.The care of orphan children and widows is a divine
command. However, in doing so, we are not limited to a
specific manner of caring for them.

James 1:27,
Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this,
To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to
keep himself unspotted from the world.

Gal. 6:10,
As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men,
especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

1.There is not any New Testament pattern as to how this care
shall be provided. The how is in the realm of human
judgment. Orphans are being taken care of in private homes
without outside help, in private homes with outside assistance, in
houses owned by the local congregations, and in orphan homes
either under an eldership or a board of directors.

2.An orphan home is not a parallel to the Missionary
Society. The Missionary Society took charge and oversight of the
mission work of the Christian Church and sought to exercise
control over its congregations. Instead, the eldership of a local
congregation is to oversee its own mission work; and each local
church is to be autonomous (self-ruled).

3.The church is not a domestic home. Elders, as such, are
not over a home. Instead, a local church can financially and
materially assist a home; whether that home is an individual
family home or an orphan home. An orphan home has been provided
for children who no longer have a natural home. Elders or other
faithful brethren may serve as the trustees of that home.

III.WE MUST OBEY ALL THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD FROM THE HEART.

A.Our worship of God must be in both spirit and truth.

John 4:24,
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him
in spirit and in truth.

John 14:15,
If ye love me, keep my commandments.

1 Cor.
13:1-3, Though I speak with the tongues of men and of
angels, and have not charity [love], I am become as sounding
brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of
prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and
though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and
have not charity [love], I am nothing. And though I bestow all my
goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned,
and have not charity [love], it profiteth me nothing.

Conclusion:

It is just as
sinful to make matters of opinion matters of faith and conditions
of fellowship, as it is to treat matters of faith as matters of
opinion. We dare not bind where the Lord has not bound; nor loose
where the Lord has bound!